Environments in which inventories of objects are managed, such as products for purchase in a retail environment, may be complex and fluid. For example, a given environment may contain a wide variety of objects with different sizes, shapes, and other attributes. Such objects may be supported on shelves in a variety of positions and orientations. The variable position and orientation of the objects, as well as variations in lighting and the placement of labels and other indicia on the objects and the shelves, can render detection of structural features such as the edges of the shelves difficult.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.